


Protection

by Maybelifeistooshort



Series: Big Sister Azula [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: AU, And a good big sister, Angst, Azula is older, But also, Fluff, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, just saying, lowkey based this on a dream I had, she's trying, there is some, ursa isn't a great parent either, very quickly written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27956177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maybelifeistooshort/pseuds/Maybelifeistooshort
Summary: When Azula has something to protect, nothing else matters.
Relationships: Azula & Iroh (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Big Sister Azula [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067780
Comments: 12
Kudos: 236





	Protection

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't my best work, but I haven't been able to get this idea out of my head.

Azula is two when her baby brother is born. He’s small, ugly, and squishy. Father seems disappointed in him, so Azula ignores him as well. She has better things to do than holding a squishy baby. 

That night, he won’t stop crying. Azula sneaks out of her crib without the guards noticing and toddles to his room. It’s smaller than her’s, and she’s grateful. She lights a small fire in her hands, just wanting the baby to be quiet. She had seen that people got quiet if she burned them. She made her way to the crib, and looked down at her crying brother. 

Zuko looked up at her with his big eyes, and stopped crying. Azula put out the fire, not able to even think about burning him. Now that she got a closer look, he wasn’t as ugly as he was before. He kind of looked like one of her dolls. Something new sparked inside of Azula, the need to protect her brother. 

When she was ten, Azula found out she had a blue fire. It was something that people were amazed by. Even Father was proud of her for it. She lived up to her name, and she was sure that she could be the most powerful firebender out there, but that didn’t matter. 

What mattered was how Zuko loved to play. She didn’t want to admit she had a soft spot for her baby brother, but she had stopped tormenting the turtleducks as soon as he had asked her to. She was going soft, but only for him. 

Zuko had only discovered his fire when he was six. It was strong, but Azula’s was stronger. Behind Father’s back, Azula helped Zuko with his training. Uncle was a good teacher to him, no matter how much Azula couldn’t stand him. Zuko seemed to like him, so she left them alone. The other teachers weren’t as good. They treated him as if he had already done something wrong. 

No matter what Father said, Azula knew that Zuko was talented. He could made a small dragon with his flames. She could too, and hers was bigger, but it was still amazing. When no one was watching, the two of them played silly games and reenacted scenes from Zuko and Mother’s favorite play. 

Zuko needed a patient teacher, and one who knew how to sneak around Father. She was the only good option other than Uncle. So she pulled back her biting comments when he messed up, and learned how to guide him through movements. She even helped him learn how to use those stupid swords that he loved so much. 

Azula thought that when he finally won a sparring match, that would be the end of it. She would be happy to go back to life, knowing that he could now protect himself. Some of herself thought she would be angry that someone younger than her could beat her, but when Zuko won a match, she only felt one thing. Pride. 

Zuko ran up to her after, making sure she was okay and hugging her tightly. It was then that Azula realized her job would never be done. 

Uncle went to war, and Zuko wouldn’t stop crying. Even though Azula complained that he was ruining her dress, she still held him tightly and rubbed his back that night. It felt like a mother’s job, but Ursa had lost that title in her mind, letting Father treat Zuko the way he did. 

Ursa died or ran off after Father talked about killing Zuko. Azula didn’t care much about either, knowing that if Father tried she would end him. She had never been close with Ursa anyways. She still held Zuko close while he cried, and she ignored her own tears that fell that night. 

When Zuko was thirteen he begged to go into a war meeting with Father. Azula didn’t really understand why he wanted to, the meetings were boring. Father had taken her to a few, and she had always had to do her best not to fall asleep, so she didn’t worry about what would happen. He would be fine. 

She was wrong. 

Zuko tried to protect the innocent, like he always was, and spoke up against a general. He was challenged to an agni kai against a general. Azula flicked his forehead before helping him train for the fight. He didn’t need to be scared. She was his teacher. 

Azula was as horrified as Zuko when instead of the cocky general, Father walked out. There was no way for Zuko to win this battle. If he got burned, he would bring dishonour to their entire family. If he somehow won, he would burn the Firelord. An act of treason.

Zuko didn’t fight, because of course he didn’t. Azula was the only one to scream in protest, flames coming to her hands even though she didn’t ask them to. Uncle, the coward who had looked away while Zuko screamed, held her back. 

She wasn’t surprised when Ozai banished them. He spat something about finding the Avatar, The Avatar who had been missing for a hundred years, before sending them, Uncle, and a crew away. 

She and Uncle worked together to help Zuko, but Azula reminded him at every moment that she would never forgive his cowardice. Zuko was like a son to him, and he sat by while he screamed in agony. At least the old man agreed. 

Zuko took their fruitless goal as a challenge, and no one had the heart to tell him that it was hopeless. As soon as he could stand without falling over, she and Uncle helped him train. 

He was afraid of fire, so Azula helped him with his swords. Even though she would never say it out loud, Uncle was better at dealing with emotions and fears. While she was uncomfortable and awkward, Uncle understood and knew exactly what to do. 

Zuko became bitter and hateful, something she knew well enough. She heard their crew calling them cruel and heartless behind closed doors, but she couldn’t find it within herself to care. They could think what they wanted. 

She was eighteen when the Avatar was found, and she couldn’t believe it. She was as excited as Zuko. She realized she had gone soft when she doesn’t take the kill, just to prove that crossing her and her brother will end with anyone you’ve ever loved gone. Instead she follows Zuko out. 

They keep training, and they keep getting better. The Avatar always seems to be out of their reach, and the Water Tribe girl seems to be a gifted young waterbender, even if she’s not classically trained. 

For far too long, they’re chasing. It’s like a game of cat and mouse, without the fun part. A little blind girl that's far too strong joins the group. 

Azula knew that if she wanted to, really wanted to, they could easily get the Avatar. He had obvious weaknesses and would be devastated if any of his friends dropped dead due to a lightning strike. He’d either fall apart or kill them all, she wasn’t sure. But Zuko didn’t want to hurt anyone, so she let him take the lead. 

After almost a year of playing the stupid game, even ignoring Father’s offer to bring them home, they actually joined the Avatar. Azula laughed in Aang’s face when he asked her to teach him, pointing him to Zuko. 

Uncle offered her tea while they watched Zuko fumble through conversations with Katara and Sokka. The kid deserved talking to people his age, needed it even. When Uncle told her that she should join in, she shook her head and drank her tea. 

It was unrelated to that conversation, but when Suki joined them, Azula found that she didn’t mind talking to her. And with Suki came Sokka, who was surprisingly smart. 

There were lots of adventures that didn’t really need to be had in Azula’s opinion. Zuko and Sokka snuck off to break some people out of prison from a failed infiltration attempt on the day of the black son. Hakoda was added to the list of people Azula didn’t mind. 

When Aang won, Azula wasn’t sure what to do with herself. She was no Firelord, and she wasn’t going to be someone who fixed relations between nations. She was good at war. Talking war, training, and planning. 

She almost killed Zuko when he suggested she become a teacher. She almost did it again when she did it, enjoying the terrifying and dramatic lives of her students. 

If anyone asked, Ozai had been transferred to the Earth Kingdom. That’s what Zuko and his friends thought. Only Azula and Iroh knew the truth. He had walked in, just as Ozai was turned to ashes in her blue flame. Surprisingly, he nodded and then left. 

Azula stood by her brother. If she was anything, she was loyal. If she had someone to protect, then nothing mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> I might expand on this if I feel like it. More specific stories and such. Comments and Kudos are appreciated but not mandatory. Any feedback, positive or negative, is welcome! Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day!


End file.
